UK construction giant Breedon targets further Irish acquisitions

Britain's Breedon Group, which owns the Lagan and Whitemountain construction materials businesses in Ireland, remains on the lookout for further Irish acquisitions despite the slowdown.

British publicly-quoted construction materials group Breedon has reiterated that it is actively looking at further acquisitions in Ireland.

Breedon already has significant operations in Ireland. 

It owns materials, surfacing, and civil engineering company Lagan in the Republic and Whitemountain — a paving and street lighting business — in the North.

Breedon entered the Irish market in 2018 through the €500m takeover of Lagan.

Breedon has been active on the acquisitions front during the pandemic. 

Last autumn it completed its £178m (€207m) purchase of the UK assets of international cement giant Cemex.

Now, it has announced a smaller bolt-on acquisition in the UK, through the purchase of Micromix (Northern), which trades as Express Minimix. 

That company operates a fleet of cement-mixing trucks that deliver small loads of ready-mixed concrete across the north of England and parts of Scotland.

Ireland remains on Breedon's radar, too, however.

Last year after seeing both of its Irish subsidiaries perform well, but particularly the Lagan Group, Breedon said: “We see Ireland as being a good growth opportunity for us, and that continues to be the case.”

In its latest annual report, Breedon said: “Looking ahead, in the Republic of Ireland we are focused on maintaining our contracting market share and building our share of the aggregates and ready-mixed concrete markets through selective bolt-on acquisitions.”

A spokesperson said that statement still stands, despite any disruption caused to the Irish construction sector by the pandemic.

Meanwhile, long-established Belfast-based construction firm McLaughlin & Harvey has launched a new fit-out division. 

Called WorkSpace, the new business division will offer clients facilities management, fit-out, bespoke joinery and commercial furniture services.

“The company has built a strong reputation for delivering large scale construction and civil engineering schemes over many years, and recently the directors felt there was a need to create a dedicated division for projects outside the scope and scale of those traditionally associated with McLaughlin & Harvey,” said director Richard Cheevers.